FTMU vs SCMB

FTMUBFranklin Municipal Income ETF

SCMBASchwab Municipal Bond ETF

In short

FTMU A municipal bond strategy with roots going back to 1976, now running inside an ETF. The job: income exempt from federal tax, spread across roughly 300 bonds, measured against the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index, at a fee sitting right on the category median.

SCMB Schwab's take on the core muni sleeve: three basis points, thousands of AMT-free bonds from across the country, and a monthly distribution. Bottom-of-the-table pricing, no frills attached.

Stated mandate

FTMU The fund seeks a high level of current income exempt from federal income tax, consistent with preservation of capital.

SCMB The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index representing the U.S. AMT-free municipal bond market.

Why people hold it

• FTMU Long lineage. The strategy dates to 1976, which puts decades of rate cycles behind the approach now delivered in an ETF wrapper.
• The mandate is refreshingly plain: a high level of current income exempt from federal income tax, consistent with preservation of capital, spread over roughly 300 municipal bonds.
• The 0.30% fee lands exactly at the muni-cohort median and undercuts Franklin's own FTCA (0.35%), which is measured against the same Bloomberg muni benchmark.

• SCMB Three basis points a year, against a 0.30% median for muni bond funds. Among the top-graded names in the category, only Vanguard's VTEB matches that fee.
• Follows the ICE AMT-Free Core U.S. National Municipal Index across thousands of bonds and issuers, so no single borrower or state drives the portfolio.
• Plain passive plumbing done well: it stays close to its index, trades actively, and pays monthly. One of the stronger implementations in the muni aisle.

Worth knowing

• FTMU Hands-on bond picking has a price. Broad index muni funds like VTEB and SCMB charge 0.03%, so 0.30% is what the active seat costs here.
• Payouts have arrived on an irregular cadence rather than a fixed monthly rhythm, so income timing is less predictable than at some muni peers.
• The tax break in the objective is federal. It says nothing about state or local income tax, which varies by where you live.

• SCMB Launched in 2022, so its live record is shorter than muni staples like MUB and VTEB, even though the strategy is the same broad-market idea.
• Bond math still applies. This is a portfolio of municipal bonds, so share prices move opposite to interest rates.
• National in scope, not single-state like NYF, so it is not built around any one state's tax rules.

Full FTMU profile⁠

Full SCMB profile⁠